Budget 2007 - what do YOU want from it?

[astroboydivx]

Yeah pretty close now, Tuesday night I think...

 

[Stan 101]

Seeing as the title made it clear we could be totally selfish on this one, I will be

How about some freaking extra breaks for the singles out there? I'm not talking teens etc who are yet to get married. I'm talking of the ones who have tried that, been burned, had to start again, singles.
Not being a couple with dependants is definately a minority and from a financial point of view is hell.
1. Without a spouse, one can't put property in the name of the lowest earner... There are tonnes of these cases. It's harder to use trusts.. Basically you pay more CGT. Simple as that.
2. Baby freaking bonuses... What about a bonus for guys and girls who don't bring into the world a whole gaggle (what is the collective noun for a group of children??) of kids and welch on the limited and truly important social security.
3. What about rent/mortage assistance cos you live alone as your whole world just disappeared when the ex took off?
Damn it, I thought I'd be able to rant about this forever..

How about a better national road and rail service. Lets force the issue of interstate rail cartage.

I'm really keen on a canal being built from the Kimberleys to Southern NSW. Let us open up our great interior. If we turn the first sods this year, we can aim for completion in say, oh I don't know...year 2151... What a legacy???


I wish only big tax returns for all of you..

 

[wayneL]

I'm going to consumer affairs for a refund.

Goods do not match the sale description. What I thought was for the benefit of society as a whole is going is going straight int pork barrels and gravy trains... not to mention middle class welfare.

...and I'm p1ssed.

I want my money back!!

 

[Julia]

I'm going to consumer affairs for a refund.

Goods do not match the sale description. What I thought was for the benefit of society as a whole is going is going straight int pork barrels and gravy trains... not to mention middle class welfare.

...and I'm p1ssed.

I want my money back!!

I'm with both Stan 101 and Wayne on this. If I hear once more Julia Gillard/Kevin Rudd utter the phrase "working families" as though only blue collar workers are deserving of any consideration whatsoever, I will spit.

And every time Mr Costello hands out yet more tax cuts I sigh in frustration. The amounts are too small to be really meaningful for any individuals (or "working **** families") but that same amount as a whole could create a huge difference to say, the health system, including mental health, or any number of large infrastructure projects. How stupid to be giving people the equivalent ( in Amanda Vanstone's terms) of a milkshake and a cup of coffee when we may be running out of water.

 

[marklar]

How about some freaking extra breaks for the singles out there? I'm not talking teens etc who are yet to get married. I'm talking of the ones who have tried that, been burned, had to start again, singles.
Not being a couple with dependants is definately a minority and from a financial point of view is hell.

How about less damn "rebates" and "bonuses" that make something like 1 in 3 Australians(*) dependent on Centrelink?
We're becoming a society that is very much reliant on milking the system for handouts and rebates from the Government, the tax law is so damn complex that it's almost impossible for anyone to do their own tax returns themselves.
Fix the problem of bracket-creep by pushing up the tax-free threshold to something sensible and avoid having to hand out most of the rebates and bonuses. With a simpler tax system the costs of compliance and welfare are reduced and you can then sack some shiney-bums in the ATO & Centrelink.

m.

(*)Don't quote me on that figure

 

[Stan 101]

Marklar, I'm now going to refer to you as "33.33 recurring."

 

[noirua]

An Island I lived on for two quite long periods has 5% income tax and 5% tax on goods we buy and no other taxes.
It would mean Australia having no army, airforce or navy. Cutting down police numbers by 75%. Having a Federal Government and no State Governments. Inviting foreign companies to register in Australia and pay no tax, providing they banked here.

 

[ROE]

Want all shares trading Capital Gain tax free in return I don't claim on capital lost

 

[louie]

1.Tax Threshold to be increased – say to $10,000

2. 30% tax rate increased to $120,000.

3. Stay at home mums who have given up their careers to look after the kids & who don’t use child care (rip off), to get a better deal this time around.

4. Capital gains tax formula lowered to 25% for any investment sold in the first year & lesser still on future years.

Is this asking too much?

Yeh I wish.

 

[Smurf1976]

We have been reaping the rewards of our lack of proper investment through the water crisis in recent times. Much the same with transport too as the bottlenecks start to seriously cost the economy. And although it's somewhat hidden in the eyes of many, we've got much the same problem with land for housing.

Next on the list is energy IMO. All the same mistakes are being made - rising demand, ageing infrastructure, not willing to invest enough and a determination to stop anyone who is.

Tax cuts? Only if they're directed specifically at encouraging investment in the things the country actually needs for the future. The last thing we need is the type of tax cuts that fuel inflation as we've already got more than enough of that.

With water, energy, transport it comes down to largely public investment. But with land for housing, it's nothing more than red tape standing in the way and it's time to not only remove it, but get rid of the very structure and thinking that put it there in the first place.

Land shortage? Nope. A shortage of government (council) permission to build on the land is what we've got. The legacy of years of incompetent town and other planning that, along with water, energy and so on, fails to grasp the basic notion that more people = more infrastructure and land required.

If we keep creating shortages of water, land, energy, transport and so on whilst ramping up the money supply and increasing the population then sooner or later it doesn't work. Either we get rampant price inflation or, if some form of price controls are imposed, physical shortage. We're seeing it now with land prices and physical shortages of water and to some extent transport. Energy's just around the corner and that'll do more damage than all the rest put together. Time to stop creating shortages...

 

[krisbarry]

1.Tax Threshold to be increased – say to $10,000

Yes completely agree

 

[hongwong]

I'm an unhappy customer; I want my money back.

lol ... We only wish ... TAX cuts in CGT ! and TAX cuts.

all that rain that has fallen in melbourne and the catchments missed it all ...

I guess the gov. is blaming it on the clouds ......